I am Legion
by Lord Dragon Claw
Summary: When he was young, Naruto had an encounter with a poison dart tree frog. Instead of traumatizing the kid, it intrigued him. And then he got access to the Forbidden Scroll... intelligent!Naruto
1. Surprising

I am Legion

by Lord Dragon Claw

Disclaimer: Yeah, Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto. I don't, and no money is made from this.  
At least, no money I know of.

Chapter One: Surprising

* * *

Hatake Kakashi was rarely surprised. He was once the Konoha ANBU Captain and a student to one of the most surprising shinobi in history. To say that the masked man could get surprised would be to say that the sun was cold.

Normally, anyway.

When he showed up, he was surprised by the ten kagebunshin (shadow clones) hidden around the training field, by the fact that they were actively suppressing their presences and chakra signatures to a minimal amount (still not enough to fool the great Copy Kakashi), and by the fact that Naruto, the source of the clones, was simply doing ab crunches when he arrived.

He was not surprised when Naruto didn't even bother to hide at the start of the bell test like Sasuke and Sakura did. The kid just stood there, boasting about how easy to take down the Jounin would be.

Just to annoy him, Kakashi pulled out the latest copy of the Icha Icha series and began to read it, provoking the blonde into charging him. He idly blocked the boy's attacks, before moving behind him and making the tiger seal.

Sasuke and Sakura expected a jutsu of some sort...

"Konoha's Secret Arts: Thousand Years of Pain!"

... but not anything like Kakashi imitating a very loud proctologist. What really surprised everybody was when Naruto simply turned to smoke.

_A shadow clone!_ mused the masked ninja before something in the smoke caught his eye. _OH SH-_

The explosive tag hidden within the clone's smoke from dispelling exploded, but Kakashi had managed to evade the fireball with a kawarimi. He hid in a tree nearby concealing himself so completely that not even an ANBU would be able to find him without tripping over him while he calmed his racing heart.

Kakashi was not used to being surprised. Not at all. But Naruto certainly wasn't what he appeared to be. Not if he could plan so well in advance to have his clone activate the exploding tag in advance so precisely that it would go off just after being dispelled... or maybe it was just supposed to go off while he was engaged with it? That would certainly have gotten him by surprise if he hadn't noticed the tag before it went off, and he would not have noticed it if he hadn't inadvertently dispelled the clone. And there was the fact that the thing was a shadow clone the entire time.

_That was way too close,_ decided Kakashi. _Naruto__ just proved himself to be the most dangerous of the group._

* * *

Sasuke swallowed nervously. He didn't know whether Naruto had just killed their sensei or if the man had survived. Like Kakashi, the young Uchiha had come to the same conclusions.

It was a good thing that exploding tags were banned in the Academy sparring sessions... But that clone had been solid! Just like the ones that jumped him the day before! What sort of clone jutsu was that, anyway?

"Hey, hey, hey!" whispered an annoying voice beside Sasuke. The dark haired boy nearly jumped at the sound, but remembering the test he was able to restrict his movements to a merely startled twitch.

"What do you want, dobe (dead-last)?" If one person was going to keep up appearances, then so would the Uchiha.

"Now, now, teme (jerk), I know that you know I'm better than I let on," admonished the blonde. He leaned in conspiratorially. "And I know that you know that Kakashi-sensei is fine. Now he's gone and hidden himself... want to help find him?"

"... no."

"Why not?" asked the blonde conversationally, despite whispering. It seemed that he wasn't annoyed at Sasuke, even though he normally would be given his track record. "There are two bells and two of us, after all."

"You'll just slow me down, dobe."

Naruto grinned at this. "You can't say I didn't offer, at least."

With that, the blonde dashed forward, making a lot of noise in the underbrush, into the clearing to inspect the crater his overpowered exploding tag made, totally giving away Sasuke's position.

Biting back a curse, Sasuke did his best to hide himself again.

* * *

Kakashi figured that the blonde who ran into the crater was another clone... possibly scouting out the area to see if it could find any trace of the silver-haired Jounin. Kakashi wasn't going to move to attack the thing like the bait it obviously was.

_Hell, it even spoke to Sasuke for a bit to make itself more convincing, but just to be sure..._ Kakashi briefly uncovered his Sharingan eye, which let him know that it was indeed a clone.

He would wait. He was very good at waiting, unlike his potential students.

But luck was not on Kakashi's side that day. The wind changed direction, bringing his scent to the blonde's nose. Said clone charged the tree, which Kakashi leapt out of, throwing a brace of shuriken at the clone to dispel it. Kakashi wanted to be well out of the blast range of the next exploding tag, if there was any, when the clone was dispelled.

The clone popped like a bubble. There was indeed a piece of paper with writing on it left behind, but it was obvious it wasn't an exploding tag.

Kakashi moved forward to inspect the paper, but he did so cautiously. He found that it was a message. He read it from a distance of four meters - no point in getting too close if it was another trap.

As predicted, Sasuke doesn't understand  
the meaning of teamwork.  
Going to test Sakura.  
- Naruto  
P.S.:  
I challenge you to find me.

Kakashi reflected on that while checking his surroundings. This indeed was the kid who managed to prank most of Konoha on a regular basis, and pranked a random ANBU headquarters once a month. This kid was able to evade Chuunin, Jounin, and ANBU on the chases throughout the city after any given prank for hours on end until he was finally cornered. At which point the boy gave up with no further resistance.

_That is actually rather odd,_ realized Kakashi. _I should ask the Hokage about it, as he knows the most about the boy._

* * *

Sakura was confused about Naruto. What type of clones were those? They were obviously solid, which was odd, but she didn't think he knew any elemental clone jutsu. And wasn't the bunshin (clone) his worst jutsu anyway?

"Hey, Sakura-chan?" whispered a familiar, but annoying, voice, startling the pinkette so badly that she fell out of the tree she was hiding in. Luckily, there was another blonde directly below her able to catch her, bridal-style.

"Watch out, Sakura-chan!" reprimanded the second Naruto. "We're still in the middle of a Jounin's test!"

"I know that, idiot!" Sakura hissed back. "Put me down!"

Shrugging and shaking his head, Naruto dropped her like last year's gallon of milk.

"So," he began. "Do you want to help me fight Kakashi-sensei?"

Sakura's eye twitched. "Why would I do that? That would leave Sasuke-kun out of it! He wouldn't be able to get a bell!"

Naruto shook his head. "Whatever." He then turned towards where Kakashi was standing.

"HEY!" he yelled, getting the Jounin's attention. "SAKURA'S OVER HERE!"

"SHUT UP YOU IDIOT!" shrieked Sakura as she punched Naruto in the head. He popped like a balloon. Startled, the girl turned towards where the other Naruto had been only to see that it was gone.

She bolted into the foliage to try and hide herself before Kakashi could find her.

* * *

Kakashi palmed his face before deciding to pursue Sakura. One quick genjutsu, and she was out like a light. The Jounin sighed.

It was obvious that Naruto knew exactly what was going on in the bell test and was disgusted with the fact that neither of his potential teammates had figured it out yet. Kakashi _really_ needed to learn more about the blonde. If the other two couldn't learn by the end of the day, then he'd request to teach the kid one-on-one. Besides, he owed it to Naruto's father more than he owed anything to anyone else.

Oh, Sasuke ran into another one of Naruto's clones, apparently. A brief fight that was as loud as all else, and the clone was dispelled. Might as well put the Uchiha out of commission.

* * *

When the alarm rang, alerting everyone to the fact that it was noon, Sakura had only barely managed to unearth Sasuke enough for him to get free. And that was only after she passed out thinking that her crush had been decapitated.

Both prospective Genin had been tied to logs. When Kakashi turned to get Naruto, seven of him had shown up. Kakashi shrugged and told all the blondes to sit.

He explained what the bell test was about, and that Naruto was to eat both lunches in front of the other two. He then left on an "errand" of some sort.

Two of the Narutos picked up the bentos containing the food. They looked at each other before offering to feed the two restrained people.

"NARUTO!" exclaimed Sakura. "He told you not to let us eat!"

"That's exactly why I'm feeding you," explained a third blonde.

"Hn?" grunted Sasuke.

A fourth Naruto shook his head. "If we're supposed to function as a team, and the two of you are too hungry to help fight Kakashi..."

Both Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes widened in realization.

"Anyway," continued a fifth blonde. "I'm surprised neither of you could figure it out."

"One of you is a genius," said the sixth.

"And the other is the top kunoichi of our year," replied the final blonde.

"But neither of you realized that we were being tested on our teamwork and adaptation," finished the third one again. "I'm rather disappointed in the both of you."

"If you're so smart, why are you the dead-last?" asked the irate Uchiha.

"You honestly think I'd parade my full capabilities in front of the majority of the village like you, Sasuke-teme?" retorted the fifth clone.

"We're supposed to be _ninja_," began the fourth one. "And there are undoubtedly enemy spies amongst the village."

"I'd rather be discounted in the eyes of the public as a competent person, thank you very much," finished an eighth Naruto, who was just now entering the clearing.

This blonde's clothing was very different from the clones. Primarily black, for one thing. Oh, there was still orange present, but it was a more muted tone, rather than the fluorescent neon that the clones had. The orange was present in such a pattern as to give the impression of a leopard's coat, but reversed. He wore gloves of black leather, with orange spirals stitched into the backs. His undershirt was a bright red, giving the visual imagery of one of the many poison dart tree frogs found to the tropical south of Konoha proper.

Sakura openly gaped at Naruto's new look, while Sasuke simply stared. The blonde simply grinned back at them.

"And yes, all the blonde me's you've seen today and yesterday were simply clones," continued the suddenly mysterious boy. "I learned the Kagebunshin no jutsu the night before last and I've been experimenting with it since."

"Where were you if you weren't at the academy yesterday?" Sasuke suddenly asked, rightfully curious. "And where were you today?"

"Chatting with the Old Man... er, Hokage," responded Naruto, ignoring the first question. "Now, are you going to accept my help or not?" Clearly, the blonde was getting irritated.

Sasuke scowled, but nodded and opened his mouth so that he could eat from the chopsticks the clone was holding up for him. Following the dark-haired youth's example, Sakura also allowed the other clone to feed her.

* * *

Before Kakashi could leap in there to scare the crap out of Sasuke and Sakura, another Naruto walked right up to him in his hiding place.

"Yo," greeted Kakashi, pretending to not be surprised.

"Yo yourself."

This Naruto was also in his red/black/orange outfit.

"So, is this the real you, or are you simply another clone?"

"Actually, this is the real me. The one talking to Sasuke and Sakura is another clone."

"So you've learned the information feedback aspect of the shadow clone?"

"I studied the entry on the scroll rather extensively when I had it."

"I'm surprised you chose that one to learn instead of the jutsu before it," sighed the older man.

"I assume you read the report on Mizuki's betrayal?"

"I did."

"I was lying when I said I learned only one. I was just telling the Hokage that today during this test."

"Why wait two days?"

"It was the first time I could get him alone, actually."

"Huh."

"You seem as confused as those two are about my sudden competence."

"Yeah, a little."

"You read my Academy file?"

"Nope. I was judging you by your excellent performance yesterday. Excellent placement of expired milk in your apartment, by the way."

"Expired... ? Heh. Forgot about that. Been meaning to go grocery shopping in the past couple of days."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. Naruto sighed.

"Fine. I really did place it there on purpose."

"You're an excellent actor, Naruto. You'd be very good as an infiltration specialist."

The blonde shrugged. "It's what Old Man Hokage keeps telling me." He turned towards the other two prospective Genin. "Are we going to pass? Honestly, I was not impressed by the feedback the dispelled clones gave me."

As the blonde watched out of the corner of his vision, Kakashi's eye closed, and Naruto had the impression that the man was smiling. "You'll see."

* * *

As the bentos were emptied, Kakashi jumped into the clearing, scaring Sasuke and Sakura. The Naruto clones pretended to be afraid.

The real Naruto was rather amused.

Kakashi yelled at them about how they were trash for breaking the rules, but he praised them for not being worse than trash because Naruto refused to abandon his teammates.

Naruto was actually surprised by what Kakashi said next.

"Since Naruto is the only one to understand the meaning of this test, he is the only one who passes today."

"But what about the bells!" asked Sakura.

"I lied. I'm a ninja. It happens. Anyway, you're off the hook, Naruto."

All eight Narutos nodded before dispelling, surprising the two Genin-wanabes.

"The two of you have one more chance: if you fail, you return to the Academy. Your new test is in information gathering. Your subject: Uzumaki Naruto. Gather as much information on him as you can, at least three pages' worth each, and report back here in exactly forty-eight hours."

Kakashi cut their bonds before leaving immediately, returning to the real Naruto's side.

"They're not going to find too much," replied Naruto. "Not much of value, anyway."

"I realize that. But I'm going to do some digging as well."

"As I expect you to. You'll find more than they will combined, I'm sure."

Kakashi shook his head, amused. "By the way, I've got to compliment you on your suicidal exploding clone."

"Came up with the idea as soon as I learned of the jutsu."

Kakashi smiled again.

* * *

Kakashi did find out a great deal, especially since he went straight to the Sandaime (Third) Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"I need to know what Naruto is capable of, for one, and I need to know more about him in general."

The old man smiled. "You heard of the incident when he was five that convinced me to get him his own apartment?"

"I was the ANBU who led that case," replied Kakashi. "It involved one of the orphanage staff trying to get Naruto to eat a live poison dart tree frog."

The Sandaime nodded. "Young Naruto became fascinated with the frogs at that point. I had to assign someone to teach him how to read so that the boy could research them."

Kakashi cocked his head. "Who did you assign?"

"Mitarashi Anko was particularly depressed at the time, especially since we had a lead on Orochimaru's activities that turned out to be a dud."

The silver-haired Jounin raised his visible eyebrow.

"It was good for her as she couldn't teach and be drunk at the same time, Naruto learned how to read, and the two of them managed to relate to one-another."

Kakashi nodded. "Makes sense. So his obsession with these venomous amphibians has continued since?"

"That it has," laughed the Hokage. "Did you know that he coats all of his combat-ready weapons with a deadly contact poison? And not just the blades but the handles too?"

Kakashi's eye twitched. "That's... insane!"

"Yeah, he nearly gave me a heart attack when I found out what he went through to do so."

"He captured some of those frogs, didn't he?"

"Yes. He milks them for their venom and then chemically alters it so that it has a time delay once absorbed into the bloodstream."

Kakashi went very still at that. With the time delay, an opponent who touched one of the weapons, or allowed it to graze them, wouldn't feel the effects of the poison until they had already pushed it throughout much of their body.

"Is... is that why he wears those gloves?"

"Partially. He's actually immune to it, and his gloves are there to distract from that fact."

Kakashi's one visible eye widened.

"They're also chemically resistant to his poisons, like the rest of his wardrobe."

The Jounin let out a nervous sigh.

_But something doesn't click._ "Where does he mix his concoctions? He doesn't have a lab in his apartment."

"No, he does not. His lab is in the basement of ANBU Headquarters Seven."

"But that's..."

"Crazy?" interrupted the old man. "I will admit that it is quite a distance from his apartment in the slums, even so far as to say it is on the other side of the village."

"How does he travel in between?"

"He doesn't."

Kakashi was getting somewhat annoyed at how surprised he kept getting, so it was somewhat understandable that his emotional control began to slip.

"What do you mean 'he doesn't'?" growled the Jounin.

"He travels to his office, and from there he uses the reverse-summoning seal matrix therein to get to his lab."

Kakashi was exasperated. "Seal matrix? _Office_?"

The Hokage laughed.

* * *

The Sandaime informed Kakashi that Naruto had his office on the third floor of the Hokage Tower, and that the seal matrices were provided as a favor by Jiraiya of the Sannin, who the boy looked up to. Jiraiya's ability to summon toads had caught the boy's interest when he was young. Though they were generally not poisonous like dart frogs were, they shared many characteristics with their fellow amphibians.

So, Naruto would walk from his apartment to his office in the Hokage Tower, and then teleport to ANBU HQ7 to work on his poison formulae.

His office was there to give the boy a sense of what it would be like to be the Hokage, Kakashi found after entering. The boy even had to do paperwork, as evidenced by the six shadow clones working on it when he came in. They all looked up at him, grinned, and went back to work, like they had expected him to be there.

The boy had books on psychology and information gathering, on chemicals and poisons, on frogs and toads, on seals and chakra theory, and on politics both domestic and international. Several more clones were reading various different books at the same time.

Undoubtedly, more clones were somewhere doing chakra control exercises while the real one was probably training physically. Kakashi smiled before turning and leaving.

* * *

When he got to HQ7, Kakashi was not surprised to learn that Naruto's pranks were unofficially used as tests of Village Security.

It was odd, but Naruto's skills at pranking were utilized as best as they could be. Itching powder to simulate a poison gas attack. Paint bombs to simulate explosive devices. Various different pranks to simulate different kinds of enemy attacks.

Irritatingly, Kakashi was not given clearance to visit due to a lack of training in poison making. He understood the why, but he wondered if the real Naruto was in there at the moment.

Oh well. It would be interesting to find out what Sasuke and Sakura would discover.

* * *

End Chapter One.

Next Chapter: missions.

Author's Notes

Yeah, this one borrows somewhat from "Kakashi's Lament" by **Chris Hill**, but I think it is more flattery than anything else.

Anyway, this idea first came to me when in "Team 8" by **S'TarKan** one of Naruto's clones said "I am Legion". Additional inspiration came from Animal Planet, when they had a special on Brazil's most venomous creatures.

Anyway, this didn't take too long to get done. I hope to get back into my groove for "The Laughing Fox" soon, as I'd like to get that thing finished (and it's nowhere close to being done).

Anyway, gotta thank Mr. Fix-It-NAO for beta'ing.


	2. Team Bonding

I am Legion

by Lord Dragon Claw

Disclaimer: Do not pick up and lick random amphibians you may find. It never ends well.

Chapter Two: Team Bonding

* * *

Opting to go to the probable source of information, Sakura searched for one of the various shadow clones she knew were bound to be around town. Sasuke decided on asking authority figures, starting by getting an appointment to see the Hokage. It wasn't difficult for him to get in as the secretary was apparently an Uchiha fangirl, though there weren't any openings until after five in the afternoon.

Sasuke found Umino Iruka researching at the public library around two and so he could cross off another name from his mental list of people to ask.

"Oh, how are you Sasuke?" asked the Academy teacher. "Did your real exam go well?"

"It was unusual, actually," responded the Uchiha. "I have some questions for you."

"Oh?"

"Kakashi-sensei tasked Sakura and me with gathering information about Naruto. Things that aren't common knowledge would be best."

Iruka nodded. "I take it that his favorite flavor of ramen wouldn't suffice then, would it?"

Sasuke paused, apparently considering if that tidbit of information would be appropriate. "If it isn't common knowledge, then I suppose I _could_ put it in the report."

The raven-haired youth pulled out a notepad and a pen and began writing. "So, what flavor _is_ his favorite?"

The scarred Chuunin chuckled. "Pork flavor. Anything else that you can think of?"

"Well, I already know he's an expert on the use of shadow clones, suicide tactics, information gathering, and surprise attacks. What do you know about his combat abilities?"

Iruka leaned back in his seat. "For one, I know he's an expert with poisons..." He trailed off at Sasuke's astonished expression.

Sasuke began furiously writing that down. "I didn't know that!"

* * *

Sakura quickly tracked one of the orange-wearing Naruto clones down and called out to it. Rather than stop whatever it was doing, it simply created another clone that came to greet her.

"What's up?" it asked.

"Kakashi-sensei tasked us with gathering information on you."

"I am well aware of that."

"Could you please tell me a bit about yourself? Things that are not common knowledge are preferred, but you don't need to tell me things that are too personal."

The clone blinked for a second before it cracked up laughing. Sakura's face was a little downcast at that but she perked right back up when it finally responded.

"The sheer gall! Heh heh, wow. Well, sure. Why not? First thing you probably need to know is about my combat abilities. I may specialize in the use of shadow clones, but my real forte is poisons and toxic agents."

She pulled a little notepad from her pocket and wrote down what she heard in her own shorthand.

"Poisons? That's a very subtle discipline but I suppose you're more subtle than we've given you credit for."

"Sakura-san, you have no idea."

* * *

"What can I do for you, Sasuke-kun?" asked the wizened old man.

"Thank you for seeing me, Hokage-sama," replied Sasuke, knowing that his best chance to get what he wanted from authority figures was to treat them with the utmost respect. "What can you tell me about Uzumaki Naruto?" At the Hokage's raised eyebrow, he elaborated. "Kakashi-sensei gave us an information-gathering assignment. Sakura decided to try and ask Naruto himself whereas I thought it might be better to get data from authority figures and the people who know him."

"Well," began the Hokage. "Simply asking around seems to be a very civilian way of gathering your information." Sasuke slumped in his seat at that. "But not many ninja would think of doing it. Honestly, I wouldn't. My student, Jiraiya the Toad Sage of the Sannin probably would... Hmm. In any case, I can tell you a few things. What do you know already?"

Sasuke smirked at his small victory. Apparently he thought of something the Hokage wouldn't. "For starters, I know he's an expert with poisons and shadow clones, which I know is a deadly combination if you think about it."

"Indeed."

* * *

Their questioning continued in this vein. Most people they talked to didn't know much about Naruto themselves, though many ninja were semi-helpful in that they had bits of information that was unknown to most other people. The Ichiraku family were helpful as well as they knew more about the boy than most. Still, the best sources of information happened to be Naruto himself, the Hokage, and Iruka.

Sakura and Sasuke compiled their research and made a shared report for their Jounin-sensei to read. The combined amount of information that they had collected filled more than eight full pages, and Sakura alone provided almost five pages worth of material that Sasuke had been unable to discover. He was suitably impressed with her information-gathering skills. He suggested that she ask for help from Naruto with improving said skills.

* * *

One of the common things that they had learned was that most of the civilian population and some of the ninja outright hated Naruto for an unknown reason, though Sakura did hear mutterings of "demon child". Apparently someone tried to kill the boy when he was five years old. They were one of the people who worked at the orphanage Naruto lived in and were executed for attempted murder. Naruto had been living on his own since that time.

The Ichirakus knew that Naruto had an obsession with poison dart frogs specifically and all poisonous or venomous creatures in general. This information was verified by Umino Iruka and the Hokage.

The current police force, which Sasuke visited, was willing to let the raven-haired youth check the records on account of his family's service to the force in the past. Naruto's criminal record was sealed as a village secret for an unknown reason, but it was related to ANBU business evidently - a general overview of his pranks was kept separate but they had no details on any given prank by ANBU mandate. Still, Sasuke did find out that several civilian criminals had been caught due to information provided by Naruto. Quite a number of unstable individuals including serial killers had been apprehended thanks to Naruto's assistance.

They provided Kakashi with a list of names of people Naruto helped to catch and the crimes for which they were caught. There was also a list of his favorite foods, animals (the orange and red poison dart frog with blue specks happened to top the list), movies, books (both fictional and non), and places to hang out. Kakashi noted that HQ7 was missing from that list, but probably because it was a secret related to village security. Naruto's office was on the list though.

They then had a diatribe on Naruto's combat abilities, compiled from the raw data they gathered from the Hokage, Iruka, and various other named ninja that they managed to contact, including Might Guy. Sasuke speculated that no one knew Naruto's full combat potential.

The ninth and final page focused on speculation as to why most of the civilians hated the blonde. Their theories included the possibility that his parents had been traitors or missing-nin as they couldn't find any records of anyone with the family name of Uzumaki except Naruto, that the fact he was born the day the Kyuubi attacked somehow had earned him an unfair stigma (which both Sakura and Sasuke commented on, each saying that it was sheer stupidity if it was the case), or the possibility that his whisker-like birthmarks were thought to be some sort of curse by the ignorant populace. Both Genin expressed their outrage at Naruto's treatment by the village at large, and Sasuke actually found it just as irritating as the blind hero-worship that those same people tended to give to him.

Kakashi was impressed with the report and their information-gathering skills. About half of it he had learned himself already, and there was quite a bit that he knew that they did not, but the fact that they had found relevant information on their secretive teammate as well as information that was rather useless (such as pork ramen being his favorite food) was rather impressive.

The silver-haired Jounin looked up from the report his other two Genin had handed him and smiled, his eye turning into an inverted U. "You both pass!"

They both let out a sigh of relief.

Naruto, or one of his clones at least, walked up to the group, dressed in his orange/red/black clothing (which the other three people would soon associate with his "business attitude"). "So we're a four-man squad?"

"Indeed," replied Kakashi, handing the report over to the blonde.

Sakura did a double-take when she witnessed that, whereas Sasuke just blinked.

Naruto spent ten long minutes reading through the report, but he seemed rather stunned at the speculation page at the end. He folded the report in half and handed it back to Kakashi when he had finished.

"I am rather impressed, especially with your reaction to how most people treat me. I know the reason why, naturally, and it is an S-class village security secret which I, and only I, have authorization to share with anyone. I am not quite comfortable divulging it to you two just yet..."

This brought extreme curiosity to both Sasuke's and Sakura's minds.

"... but you've both taken a huge leap in earning my trust."

"Well," began Kakashi. "We are a team now. Hopefully we can become close, like a family with time. We start missions tomorrow morning. Meet you here at eight. I may be late, so use your time wisely."

The three Genin saluted in response, eliciting a chuckle from the Jounin.

* * *

The next few weeks rolled into a routine. The three Genin would meet at their training ground at eight in the morning. Finding that Kakashi was late, as always, they settled into light spars. Sasuke found that he was faster than Naruto, but the blonde tended to hit harder and had a great deal of endurance. Sakura was both slower and weaker than the boys, but proved to be more graceful and more difficult to knock off-balance.

When Kakashi arrived anywhere between 8:45 and 9:30, Naruto either changed his appearance to his orange eyesore jumpsuit or sent a clone along with them, usually stating that he had work to do at his lab. They would then set off to the mission office where they were assigned a D-rank mission which Sakura accurately described as being little more than a chore. Once they finished that mission in record time (usually with Naruto's shadow clones doing most of the work) and collected their payment, they returned to their training ground where Kakashi would then teach them. More of Naruto's clones would show up, but he was always there in person for the instruction as only his real body would profit from the physical exercises.

Around three in the afternoon Kakashi would usually dismiss them for the day. Naruto (or a clone) and Sakura would always stay behind for additional training. Balance or chakra control in Naruto's case or in information collection or strength or speed in Sakura's. For the first few days Sasuke went home for his own training until the constant nagging of Naruto's clones changed his mind...

* * *

"Oh, come on!" whined the clone.

"I told you! I refuse!" Sasuke replied.

"Why?"

"Sakura will hold me back from-"

"Murdering your brother, Itachi?"

"Hn. You figured it out."

"Look, does it matter who kills him? As long as he pays for his crimes, does it matter?"

Sasuke thought about that for a long minute. "Hn."

"Honestly? Even if we couldn't go toe-to-toe with him, there are other ways of killing people."

"Like poisons?"

"Exactly. Subtle ones that are undetectable by any jutsu. Psychoactive drugs in his drink to give the illusion of being in a genjutsu followed by a simple dart to his neck for example."

"Hn. You have a point there."

"So? Maybe Sakura can track him down, I can immobilize him, and you go in for the kill? Maybe someone else out there will get lucky and kill him for us?"

Sasuke was given the night to think about that. The next day he remained with them for training.

On occasion, they would just hang out after three, maybe see a movie or just do something fun. The whole time, their conversations were rather sarcastic and teasing.

* * *

"That movie was rather like Sasuke's own sob story."

"Hn."

"Look what you did this time, Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun's upset!"

Of course, Sakura was smiling. It took surprisingly little coaching from Naruto, but she was no longer star-struck every time Sasuke was near.

"Am not."

"I think Sakura's got your number on this."

"Although I do think Naruto-kun's assessment of the film was accurate..." Sakura said thoughtfully.

"Well, if that movie's a mirror of my own life, then Himeko was certainly the one of Sakura's."

Both boys looked at the pinkette while she thought about it. Himeko was actually little better than a ninety-year-old obsessive woman.

"Ew," was her verdict.

A moment of silence occurred before Sasuke smirked and the other two started laughing.

* * *

Among the things that Kakashi taught them was tree-walking - the act of walking up or down non-horizontal surfaces by sticking yourself to the surface with chakra. Sakura was the first to get it whereas the boys both needed help. Naruto was actually doing better than Sasuke, but both boys realized the reason for it was Naruto using his shadow clones with the leaf-sticking exercise almost constantly.

Sasuke shared his fire jutsu with his teammates during their training sessions without their Jounin-sensei. Naruto shared what he knew of aerodynamics and throwing technique as well as some of the training methods Might Guy had him employ to build stamina and strength. Sakura helped them both with their control and helped them to fine-tune their balance without the aid of chakra.

* * *

After three weeks of doing D-rank missions, Sakura was ready to scream. On day twenty-two, she finally snapped.

"ARGH!" she exclaimed when the Hokage suggested they take another Tora search mission. "We've caught that cat four times already! Can't we do something else? Like a C-rank?"

Iruka, who was helping the Hokage assign missions that day, raised his eyebrow at her outburst. He then turned to the Hokage and held out his hand. The old man reached into his robes and pulled out a wad of bills and handed them to the Chuunin.

"You were right," said the village leader. "Team Seven was the first to snap."

Kakashi started chuckling with amusement behind his book while Naruto's clone fell over, laughing.

"You made a bet on us?" inquired Sasuke.

"Indeed," confirmed Iruka. "Of the three Genin teams to graduate this year, yours is the first to request a C-rank."

"We do have a C-rank mission available for you," continued the Hokage. "With Kakashi's recommendation, I can send you to escort and protect a bridge-builder from bandits while he returns home and finishes a bridge."

"Where does this man live?" asked Kakashi, not even bothering to look up from his book.

"Wave."

"The small country to the Southeast?" wondered Naruto.

The Hokage nodded.

"Well, it is pretty close to Konoha," the silver-haired man stated. "My squad's teamwork is more than sufficient for an escort mission to Wave."

"Very well," agreed the Hokage. "Iruka-kun, if you would show Tazuna-san in?"

A slightly plump but muscular old man with alcohol on his breath came into the room, slurping sake from his bottle before belching.

"Attractive," commented Sasuke softly, eliciting sniggers from his teammates.

Tazuna took one look at them before dismissing them in his own mind.

"They're just a bunch of brats! Especially the orange shorty! Is this Konoha's idea of a joke!"

Naruto's clone blinked for a moment before turning to Kakashi.

"Hey, is it considered bad-form to poison the client's sake, sensei?"

"Indeed it is," replied the Jounin as Tazuna began sputtering his drink and coughing. "No matter how much he may deserve it, it is bad-form to kill the client before the mission is over."

"Aww," retorted the clone, enticing Sasuke to smirk and Sakura to smile. They broke into full-blown creepy grins when Naruto's clone spoke next, pumping his fist into the air. "Then we'll just have to make him our next Special Friend!"

"And think about what we're allowed to do _after_ the mission is complete!" exclaimed Sakura, clapping her hands in excitement.

Iruka palmed his face to hide his smile while the Hokage theatrically refilled his pipe to keep from laughing.

Tazuna whimpered at the thought of these apparently psychotic children knowing where he slept.

Only a few seconds passed before the assembled ninja in the room couldn't take it anymore and burst into laughter, even Kakashi. The Hokage was the first to recover.

"Tazuna-san, I can assure you that these Genin were merely insulted and will not harm you in any way."

"Are you completely sure about that, Hokage-sama?" asked Sasuke in a perfect deadpan. The old ninja tried, and failed, not to laugh at that remark.

* * *

The next day found Tazuna warily standing some distance away from the trio of Genin at seven fifty-five in the morning near the South Gate. The three kids seemed to be talking about how badly Sasuke had sung at the karaoke bar the night before.

"See, you would have killed a nightingale with how you mangled 'Kill the Geezer' last night."

"Hn. Maybe if we encounter a ninja who uses songbirds for summons I'll be twice as effective against them."

"Sasuke-kun's got a point there," chimed Sakura. "Although he did much better with 'Stabbed in the Back' when his turn came around again."

Tazuna swallowed. He had a feeling that they were actually talking about him.

"Still doesn't beat my rendition of 'Kill Him with Fire'," Naruto said as he crossed his arms.

"That was the worst singing you did all night, dobe."

"Exactly!"

"Yo!" called Kakashi as he approached the group reading his orange book.

Sakura took a quick glance at the position of the sun before she double-checked it.

"He's on-time!" she gasped.

"It's the end of the world!" Naruto exclaimed before running around idiotically in circles.

Sasuke palmed a kunai. "How do we know you're not an imposter!"

Kakashi merely looked over the top of his book and chuckled before going back to it.

Sasuke put his kunai away as Naruto came to a dead-stop.

"Huh," stated the blonde intelligently.

"Hn."

"He's real," Sakura said, pretending to be embarrassed.

"So," began Kakashi. "Are you going to remain orange today, Naruto?"

"Yeah," replied the blonde. "A number of clones are staying behind to cook some things. Others are scouting ahead."

"And the red one?" asked the Jounin. Sasuke and Sakura were also interested in where the real Naruto was.

"Using the first technique on that scroll."

The whole team had already been informed of the incident with the traitor Mizuki on that particular night and that it had been Naruto's plan from the start to catch him red-handed.

"Well, are we all ready already?" asked Kakashi, smiling at his students and their client.

"Yeah."

"Certainly."

"Hn."

"Tazuna?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, ready."

"Well, let's go and get lost on the road of life!"

Tazuna had no idea what Kakashi was talking about, though the Genin snickered at the command.

* * *

End Chapter Two.

Next chapter: demons in the mist.

Author's Note

Honestly, I felt that Sasuke would be rather polite to people who he wanted stuff from. Knowing how to be manipulative of his fans and those people who were in positions of power is something I figure he'd have learned. Honestly, teenagers learn how to manipulate their parents and siblings in real life all the time.

In a similar vein, Naruto can't stand laziness. Hence why Sakura trains with him. Since he knows Sasuke's past, he would find a way to get Sasuke to train with them. Simultaneously, it proves to the Uchiha that his teammates aren't useless, especially since Naruto has proved that he could kill Sasuke by nearly killing Kakashi during their bell test.

As people like this spend a great deal of time together, they tend to find themselves more and more comfortable with each other. Hence the playful jibes and sarcastic comments.

So yes, going to Wave, just like nearly every other Narutofic out there. But I will try to make it more interesting by writing it in a non-linear fashion. Also, Naruto's fighting style will rear its magnificent head.

I thank Dumbledork for his beta-work. This chapter would have been complete shit without his input.


End file.
